Puppy Love
by nannygirl
Summary: In 'Hot Dog' Red got Kitty a puppy to try to cheer her up. Ever wonder how he'd gotten the idea, where he found the puppy, and why he thought getting her a puppy was a good idea? Here's my take on it all in this oneshot!


_**Disclaimer: **__I own nothing. I do not own That '70s Show or any of it's characters. I do not own the song that this story is names after. I own nothing!_

_**Author's Note:**__ Hello All! How are you doing? Hope you're all fine and dandy! If not maybe this story will brighten up your week a bit…maybe not…but at least make a couple of minutes better. I do hope you all enjoy this story, it's a bit different from what I usually write. Well not the pairing because I'm sure by now you all can expected RK stories from me lol But this one is different in that it takes place in season 5. A season I usually don't mess with because of the menopause Kitty storyline that annoys me. AND this story is told in a point of view. Now that's something I rarely do. I think I've only done it once before. The good news is that it's the same character that I did a POV piece before, so hopefully that helps. This story takes place in season 5 right before the opening scene of 'Hot Dog.' However the end may seem like it comes straight from the series but keep reading I did add in a different, sweeter (I think) ending to the scene. Now you don't have to watch the episode or the scene to read this story, but if you want to go right ahead! And a quick thank ou to Lisa (MistyMoutainHop) for her help on the adoption and shelter stuff. Thanks Lisa! Again, I hope you all like this story and please do leave a review, I would love to hear what you think! It's different yes, but a good different I'm hoping. Thanks for reading, don't forget to review, hope you like, and please Enjoy!_

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**Puppy Love**

It had been about ten minutes since I pulled into the parking of a building that I never thought I'd step foot in—though technically, I still hadn't stepped inside. For the past few minutes I'd been sitting here in the parking lot, in the parking space, in the Toyota.

Damn, I missed that corvette. But the memories of my sold corvette weren't the only thoughts running through my mind and keeping me from getting out of the vehicle. I was still trying to figure out how I'd gotten here. Sure, my wife had been a mess of hormones these past few weeks but had it really come down to this?

Gazing out the window, I looked at the building and the big banner that hung on it; the big red letters printed on it read, '_Adopt Your New Best Friend Today!_'

Apparently it had.

I soon threw open the driver's door and quickly got out of the car before I had time to second guess myself, and began to make my way to the animal shelter.

I'd gotten the idea the day after we got back from the trip to U.W. A trip I'm still trying to erase from my mind or at least file in the back with the darker days of the war that I didn't want to remember. Of course, Kitty's outburst in the motel wasn't the only reason behind me wanting to forget the trip, it also had a lot to do with the next morning when I woke up to the sight of the kettlehead asleep, sucking his thumb, with his ass up in the air and the foreigner seeping in nothing but his underwear. Those were images I never wanted to see or think about again.

But getting back to how I'd gotten here, I'd seen the ad in the newspaper about the adoption day here at the town's animal shelter and right away thought of Kitty. Even though I've mostly tuned in and out whenever Kitty starts talking about her lady problems—and I do this not because I don't care about what's going on with my wife but because I think there are just some a man shouldn't hear about and any kind of…lady problems is high on that list.—I've still managed to learn a few things about menopause like the mood swings, the hot flashes, irritability, and other things that I would rather not repeat. But I didn't think any of these things were the true cause behind Kitty's behavior lately. I think the reason she's so upset over this menopause thing is it meaning that she can no longer have kids. Ironically, it's the silver lining in this grey cloud for me.

At first I thought she might be afraid that I'd think she was less of a woman because she couldn't have any more children, so I did my best to convince her that this wasn't the case. But there were no changes. And then it hit me. It didn't matter what I thought, Kitty was upset because could no longer have any more babies which meant she would never have anyone else to baby.

Kitty's a nurturer. She's told me this several times throughout our marriage. And while she's able to so some nurturing at work, taking care of her patients, what about when she gets home? There's no new baby and there's won't be one. Laurie's out of the house and by the end of the school year my basement will finally be dumbass free. This should be one of the happiest times of my life but it's not because after all, how can I be happy if my wife's not?

So because I want Kitty to be happy and because I don't want her putting a bib on me and spoon feeding me my dinner, I came to the shelter to see if I could find something here that Kitty can baby and cheer her up. It's been awhile since I've seen one of her genuine, happy smiles. It's a sight I miss.

Now the last thing I need in my house is another stray but since this one might actually be helpful, unlike the ones currently polluting the basement, I'm making an expectation.

As soon as I stepped into the shelter it became obvious that this adoption day was being sponsored by some high school club. I couldn't tell what there were more of homeless animals or dumbass dope-head teenagers. Though to be fair these kids didn't look like the dope-head kind of kids, and unlike the misfits back at home, these kids were doing things to help their community not wasting their time in their parent's basement. But that didn't mean these kids weren't dumbasses

Walking past the several teenage volunteers who were talking to a person or a family looking to adopt a pet, some even holding a potential pet in their arms, I headed over to the front desk for some help.

"Hi there I'm Animal Loving Amy!" a young girl who had to be a year or two younger than The Loud one, greeted me from behind the counter while wearing a bit—almost too big—overly excited, metal mouth smile. "Well actually my name's just Amy but I added the Animal Loving part because I love animals which is why I love volunteering here. Oh but you can call me Amy. Or Animal Loving Amy. Whichever!"

"Uh huh." I said too confused to say anything else, but quickly I dismissed trying to figure out what she'd said and focused on the reason I was here. I cleared my throat and did my best to muster up a smile, "Look, Amy, I'm here to try and adopt one of these animals here."

Her smile faded and she looked almost disappointed, "Oh gee, sir, I'm sorry but adoption day isn't today. It's tomorrow."

_That couldn't be right,_ I thought with a frown and even looked up and around at the other banners that had been hung up to indicate that the adoption day was today.

"Gotcha!" I heard a voice gleefully shout.

My gaze returned to the girl who no longer looked disappointed and instead was laughing and pointing both her index fingers at me. She seemed to find her little joke amusing, but I didn't. She started to wave her hands in front of her while beginning to control her laughter.

"That's just a little joke we play around here. Pretty funny, huh?"

"Hilarious." I replied though I'm pretty sure the sarcasm was lost on her, "Look can you help me out or not?"

"Sure I can. That's what I'm here for!" she declared proudly, ready to step up to the task, "What kind of animal are you looking to be your new buddy?"

I shook my head, wanting to make this clear, "Oh no, it's not for me. It's for my wife."

"Aww!" she suddenly said with what had to be one of the dopiest love struck facial expression I'd seen, "That is _so_ sweet!" her eyes suddenly got bigger, "Does she know or is it a surprise?"

I wondered why she whispered that last word but still gave her an answer.

"Um the second one."

"EEE EEE!" She squealed excitedly, her grin even larger than before. Then unexpectedly, she stopped and her face became serious, "Don't worry, I won't say a word."

She sealed her reassurance with an over dramatic wink of her eye before bringing her smile back out. I didn't know the correct way to respond to that so I gave an awkward 'Thanks.'

"Listen, can we get started?" I realized the sooner I got started the sooner it could all be over and done with.

"Right!" she clapped her hands together, keeping them clasped while she asked, "What kind of pet do are you looking for for your wife?"

I thought over her question since I hadn't given it much thought before. Thanks to having two kids of our own there had been several animals living in our house over the years. Hamsters, turtles, birds and a tarantula. That last one had been Laurie's and to this day Kitty and I are still convinced she only wanted the damn thing so she could scare Eric.

There'd also been plenty of fish too. Including the goldfish I'd bought Kitty not too long ago. That thing hadn't lasts a week before it died…Kitty might've been able to get over that death with a quick flush down the toilet but with the state she was in now, if her new pet were to suddenly die on her, her reaction would be…

"Not a goldfish." I was quick to say, not even wanting to imagine what a little goldfish's death to my currently very emotional wife.

The young girl frowned and sounded confused, "Okay…well did you have an animal in mind? Something big or small?"

I didn't get the chance to give either question much thought when she suddenly spoke up with another question.

"I got it. What's your wife's favorite animal?" she asked making it sound like a much more serious question than it really was.

"Well she likes cats." I began to say.

"Yay!" she cheered with a large smile.

But I couldn't let her get too excited so I firmly added, "But I don't."

The kid's smile dropped and was replaced with a frown, "But you said you were looking for a pet for your wife. Not for you."

"Good point." I had to admit and seeing her animated smile reappear I gave in and nodded, "Alright, let's get on with this."

Not having to be told twice she gestured for me to follow her. We headed down a hallways, she was practically skipping while I followed in a much slower and not at all skipping kind of pace. Finally we reached the room she wanted me to see but before we entered it she seemed to think an introduction was needed.

"This is the Kuddly Kitty Korner." She informed, one hand on the doorknob of the still shut door, "But the 'C' in Cuddly and Corner have been changed to a 'K' so that all the words start with the same letter. I mean I could've just made it 'Cat' instead of 'Kitty' but kitties sound much cutter than cats, you know?"

"Uh huh." I said not paying much attention to what she was even saying.

It wasn't that I wasn't interested in finding out the room's name or how it got it…well it wasn't only that. I still wasn't a fan of coming to look at cats as a possible pet. But it was for Kitty.

My missing enthusiasm didn't seem to faze the kid and she just continued with her job, throwing open the door and waving me into the kennel filled room—that oversized smile of hers still intact.

"Come on in and look around!" she declared.

Wordlessly I followed her instructions and stepped into the room getting a whiff of the smell that was sure to fill our house if I ended up getting a damn cat. I inwardly groaned but pushed myself further into the room, reminding myself why I was doing this and who I was doing it for.

I walked over to the cages that were filled with all kinds of cats. They could've had special breed names but in my eyes, and I'm sure many others, they were just seen as white cats, black cats, orange cats, stripped cats. They varied in sized to, ranging from small kittens to fat blobs of fur. When they saw us in the room some of them rubbed against the metal bars, purring, and wanting to be petted—The kid was quick jump in and give them the attention they wanted—but most of them stayed where they were, sitting watching us for a few seconds and then going back to their own business.

That's when I remembered the biggest problem with having a cat…well beside them peeing and pooping in the house no matter how well you trained them. Cats were independent. Sure they could be cuddly and cute sometimes but for the most part cats were creatures that could care less about you, they might not even like you at all but they stayed around for the shelter and food. Kitty got enough of that from the kids.

I had to hold in a smile when I realized this cat idea wasn't the right one. "I don't think this is gonna work."

"Aw." The girl's face crumbled.

"I mean getting a cat." I explained, I was still interest in getting Kitty a pet—just not a cat…for her sake, "I don't think that's the right pet for my wife."

She frowned, "But you said she liked cats."

I took in a deep breath to help keep myself calm, "I know. But that's not the kind of pet she needs right now."I tried to tell her, "See, she needs something that she can take care of, something that'll like being taken care of. Something she can…" I paused before saying the next word. Sure, there'd never been an actual baby to begin with but there's been the idea of one and losing that had devastated Kitty and even hurt me more than I'd ever admit. I cleared my throat and continued, "Something she can baby."

Luckily she didn't need more explaining and the way her eyes lit up told me she'd already formed a new plan.

"I know exactly what she needs!" she said lifting her open hands and grinning largely.

Instead of saying more she dashed off from the room, her waving hand being the only thing that told me she wanted me to follow her.

"This is the Playful Puppy Place." She announced once we'd reached the closed door of a new room, "Don't worry, this time all the letters stayed the same."

I nodded while continuing to walk behind her when she opened up the door and stepped into the room. It was almost exactly like the last room but as the name would suggest in place of cats that filled the kennels it was dogs. Again there were different kinds, ranging in size and color though there was a better chance of me knowing some of these breed names.

"If you want something for your wife to baby and something she could even carry around like a baby, I think you should go with a smaller breed like these guys over here." She suggested as she walked over to a row of three kennels.

Inside the cages were three small dogs, all three had come up to the front cages showing more interest than some of the cats in the last room. But I wasn't sure if any of these dogs were the one for Kitty. The first one seemed friendly but had so much hair it was hard to even see the thing's eyes. The second one I thought must've been mistakenly placed in here instead of with the rest of the rats but when it started barking a high pitched bark I knew there had been a mistake. That was also the same moment when I knew that wouldn't be the dog I'd be taking home for Kitty.

The third cage held another small dog, though its body looked longer than the other two's.

"What about that one?" I asked pointing at the third one.

"Oh this little guy is a Dachshund." She explained, searching through a ring of keys for the correct one. After finding it she unlocked the cage and reached in to grab the dark colored dog, keeping him in her arms as she spoke, "But the breed also goes by a wiener dog. I call him Oscar." Her grin broke out again, "Get it? Cuz he's a wiener dog and Oscar after _Oscar Mayer_…"

"Yeah, good one." I told her before she explained anymore; I reached over and scratched the top of the dog's head and his tail started to wag. This little guy wasn't too bad.

The next thing I knew she was handing the dog over to me. He didn't bark, cry, or squirm. It was like he liked being held, he wanted the attention. I started petting him, another thing he seemed to enjoy, and then looked up, "What's his story?"

Her face saddened, "Oh it's so sad. He came in a few days ago after…" She covered the dog's ears with her hand, "after his mother got hit by a car."

"He's perfect!" I said not realizing how my words must have sounded until I saw the frightened expression on the young girl's face; I tried to fix the misunderstanding, "No, I don't mean it like that. I meant, he's perfect for my wife."

I gave a small smile but it didn't help and when she took a step back, looking like she wanted to rip the dog out of my arms, I figured out that statement wasn't much better than my previous one.

"Crap." I muttered before giving it one more shot, "Look, I promise neither I nor my wife will run over this dog or do anything to hurt him."

That large grin reappeared in that next instant, "Does that mean Oscar has home?"

"Looks that way." I said smirking down at the pup.

"EEE! EEE! EEE!" She gave another ear piercing squeal, that made some of dogs howl; then suddenly her excitement vanished and she put on a serious face again, "But before you can take him home, we have to take care of some important matters first."

I nodded understandingly while handing the dog back to her, "Right, paper work."

"Oh right that too." she nodded, "But first, Oscar has to say bye to all his friends. Come one Oscar!"

With 'Oscar' still in her arms she carried him over to a kennel and then another and another, making sure he said goodbye to all his fellow dog friends.

0o0o0o

It took longer for them to say goodbye to all his dog friends than it did to get the paperwork finished. But a half hour later it was all taken care of, papers signed, necessities and instructions given, and one final—and long—goodbye from the kid.

The ride home hadn't been as difficult as I thought it'd be. He'd stayed in the carrier bad for most of the ride and didn't cry once—which was better than Eric had done when Kitty and I brought him home from the hospital.

I decided to park in front of the house and go through the front door, I wanted to surprise Kitty with the puppy and if I went through the kitchen and she was in it, she'd see me with bag and know I was up to something. Not sure if Kitty was in the living room, I carefully opened the front door—keeping the bag behind me—and peeked in. She wasn't there. So I went to my first guess, the kitchen.

Pushing open the swinging door I was quick to spot her standing by the stove. I walked into the room just as Eric and Donna were leaving it—better for me. Kitty didn't seem to notice me yet so I took the opportunity to slyly place the bag off to the side and out of her sight.

"Kitty, I know these past few weeks have been hard on you. Hard on, all of us really." the words slipped out before I could catch them and there was no hope of Kitty having not heard them when she looked up at me with an unamused look, so I quickly added, "But especially hard on you. I mean since you found out you were…"

I struggled for the next word, I already knew how much just hearing it would upset here.

"Just say it, Red." She closed her eyes in frustration, "Barren."

"Well there's no need for both of us to say it. So, I got something to cheer my girl up." I told her, touching her arm quick and lightly.

"Well good." she said whipping her hands and then going back to her task of refilling the sugar bowl. "Because I finished off the last bottle this morning."

I hated that she had turned to booze as a way dealing with all this, but said nothing and continued with my plan. Maybe it would keep her off the hooch for awhile.

"No, no." I bent down to retrieve her surprise, "I got you…" I straightened back out with the dog now in my arms and smile on my face, "A puppy."

That smile of hers that I was hoping for didn't appear but she didn't look angry either. That was a step up. And there was still a chance of seeing that smile again, I just had to make a few selling points.

"He needs someone to take care of him." I told Kitty, giving him a few pets, "His mother got run over by a car."

Kitty's eyes widened with shock, "Did you run over a dog, Red?"

Now she looked like she was about to burst into tears…this was not going the way I'd planned.

"No. I…I just hate to see you sad and I thought…Oh forget it." I stopped the argument before it could start. It wouldn't do any good. This had been a mistake…here had to be one of the dumbasses I could blame this on. But for now I needed to make Kitty happy, even if that meant getting her more of what she didn't really need, "I'll take him back and go to the liquor store."

With the dog still in my arms, I started to march for the sliding door when a voice suddenly stopped me.

"Well no wait, wait."

Not sure I'd heard right, I turned back around to find Kitty watching me, rubbing her hands on her pants.

"He's kinda cute." she admitted, "Can I hold him?"

Though she still wasn't smiling, the corners of her mouth twitched some. The slight movement made me grin and I gladly passed the puppy over to her. As soon as he was in her arms she started to brighten up…I knew my idea was a good one.

"Oh ho ho!" Kitty said bouncing the puppy slightly and sounding happier than I'd heard her sound in awhile, she placed a kiss on the side of his face. "What a little lover boy!" she kissed him again and laughed a bit.

She was smiling, not that same big smile she used to wear all the time but at this point it was really better than nothing.

I grinned at her happiness, "See, he likes you."

I reached out to pet the dog again, but unlike any of the time before as soon as I touched him he pulled away and gave and angry bark, making Kitty jump up a bit. That damn dog had it's own mood swings.

Taking back my hand I pointed in his direction, "Well how 'bout that? He's got menopause too."

I'd meant the words as joke but the look on Kitty's face told me it still wasn't safe to joke about the menopause yet. Her small smile was gone completely and she didn't look all that happy anymore. Well that had lasted a good five seconds.

Not wanting to make it worse, I cleared my throat nervously, "I'll be in the garage."

Wordlessly I headed over the same exit I'd been walk towards only seconds ago, at least this time I was going without the dog.

"Hold it right there, Red Forman." Kitty suddenly spoke up.

I froze in my steps before carefully turning back around. The days of the war were more predictable than these past few days with Kitty had been; I had no idea what I'd be facing when I looked over at Kitty.

Needless to say I was very surprised when I saw the sight if Kitty, with her new puppy secures in her arms, looking at me with a tight little smile on her lips. She started to walk towards me but I didn't dare move, afraid of it being some sort of trap.

Almost as if she'd heard me she gave a light giggle as she stopped and looked up at me, "Thank you, Red."

"You're welcome." I gave a modest nod.

She stepped closer to me and then placed her left hand on my cheek—I knew that was my cue to lean down closer to her level. Once I was close enough she pressed her lips against mine for a soft kiss. When she pulled away she smiled, one of her true Kitty smiles that I'd fallen in love with years ago. Seeing that smile again made me smile as I watched her go back to bonding with her new friend.

"Come on, my little treasure, I think I left some of Eric's old baby bonnets out that you would just look so adorable in." she excitedly told the puppy.

Watching her walk off into the living room I shook my head but couldn't help but keep my smile in its place. The woman I married was still somewhere in there under all those hormones, I was just gonna have to wait till all of this wore off. And in the meantime I'd do whatever I could to get little glimpses of her, even if it meant having to go out and buy her a box full of kittens.

**The End**

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_**Author's Note: **__So what did you think? Two thumbs up? Two thumbs down? One thumb up and one thumb down? Lemme know what you think in a review!_

_Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, take care, and have a nice day!_


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